The Hunted
by TheArcticReaper
Summary: First fanfiction ever. Had a dream about something like this... Four young women and a little girl survive the zombie outbreak in our world and get transported to Middle Earth when Gandalf uses a spell to rescue to dwarves from the goblins. AU, after current movieverse. Rating is for slight language seeing as I can't help but throw the occasional curse word in.
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

_Reaper's POV_

* * *

Flash of light. It's odd for something like that to occur in a building. Then we were all in the middle of a forest.

"_What the hell?"_ I shook my head and looked around. _"Don't ask questions."_ I growled to myself. _"Questions only get you in trouble."_

Upon further investigation of our surroundings I notice that the dead were still there and closing in on us in our moment of discombobulation.

"Run!" I yelled, picking up little Puppy and throwing her over my shoulder, taking the rear behind Nico, Sanity, and Rider.

We ran for a good five minutes before we were out of stamina and the dead only a short ways behind.

"Passing the kid!" I called out and tossed Puppy to Nico who caught her mid-air and took off again towards a river, Sanity close on her heels.

Rider stopped just behind me, "Plan?"

I glanced over my shoulder and shrugged, "Hold 'em off…"

She threw a mock glare at me, "Great plan Reaps!"

The rumbling of the horde of dead came in through the just behind us. "Get up in the trees!" Rider yelled back to the others who had stopped by the edge of the water.

Rider and I stood side by side and unsheathed our swords. Our swords were not something special really. We had picked them up in a sword shop a few months back after meeting. The world had gone to hell after all. Ammo was hard to come by and we tried to save what we had in case of emergencies. Rider's was in the style of an old cavalry sword and mine that of a katana. Nico and Sanity each had a katana as well. They joined me and Rider moments after getting Puppy up in a tree for her safety.

Fifteen undead came stumbling out of the wooded brush at us and we seemed to get lost in a dance that we had perfected long ago. We had each other's backs. We had each other's front. We were family now. All we got left. It took a bit of effort to get the horde cut down seeing that there was only four of us and fifteen of them but in the end we managed it. We piled the carcasses and burned them away from the river in hopes of a little containment.

After getting Puppy down from the tree, we built a second fire down by the river for our personal usage with rocks encompassing it high up to hide the flames. Mostly we sat in silence, passing around some of our military meals that we had stored in our packs.

"Where are we?" Puppy asked in her meek five year old voice as she tugged on the sleeve of my jacket.

"To hell if I know little one…" I shrugged, offering her a kind smirk in return for my lacking response.

"But we were in that room… how are we in the woods?" her brow furrowed. "Did I fall asleep?"

"No," Rider grabbed another piece of wood and threw it on the fire. "You didn't miss anything Pup. We all just suddenly ended up in the forest."

I reached into my rucksack and pulled out my blanket and draped it over her small shoulders, "Sleep Pup. I'm gonna keep watch for the night. In the morning… I think you need a bath."

Puppy nodded and slid off the log that we were sitting on to the ground clutching her doll, Abbey, close to her. I met the eyes of my other companions and nodded. They too soon joined Puppy in her slumber. After several moments I stood up and began poking around the woods nearby. Before we had appeared here, there had been a lot more than just fifteen dead… there had been more like fifty. It was worrisome to think that there was about thirty or more dead wandering the woods waiting to get ahold of us still.

All my worrying and patrolling seemed to make the night go faster. I was a little deeper in the woods heading back to our campsite as dawn broke. That's when I head the bickering of deep voices. I stopped in my tracks and slowly looked over to my side where the noises were coming from. A group of fifteen… fourteen short men and one tall one were approaching. They sounded angry, pretty angry.

"Oy! Let's just get to the river and wash up lads!" I heard one voice yell out from the front of the group.

"_River!"_ My mind was reeling and I took off before they could notice me.

I ran back to camp with all my might and got there just as the others were waking up, "Pack up! We need to get up in the trees! Possible hostiles are approaching from my six!" I growled.

Nico, Rider, and Sanity sprang into action packing up whatever belongings and trash we had with us. I rallied Puppy and got her up in the nearest tree. I threw both her small rucksack and my large one over my shoulder along with my sword and rifle. Looking over my shoulder I saw that the others were on their way up their own trees, climbed up to join Puppy. The group was loud and boisterous as they entered the clearing. Way too much for an unsecured area where the dead might lurk. No sooner did they enter the clearing that we had been in, did they fall silent.

"Someone was just here…" a deep voice from the head of the group growled. "Spread out and search nearby! Let's make sure that we don't have any unwanted visitors!"

"_How the fuck did they know?"_ My eyes went wide. _"Shit! Shit! Shit!"_

I looked over to the next tree to see my three other companions looking at me through the branches. Rider pointed her eyes from me to the river. I followed her gaze to see that in our hurry we had forgotten about the smoldering campfire that was still releasing small billows of smoke.

"_Craaaaaaap!"_ I growled to myself smacking my hand to my face.

Puppy became restless as the group spread out in the clearing, becoming dangerously too close to our tree. If they just happened to glance up, they would see us. I put my arm around her, steadying her while holding a finger from my other hand up to my lips to signal for her to be quiet. She nodded, a small frightful tear rolling down her cheek. Giving her a reassuring squeeze with my one arm I looked down to see a man with a bald top of his head with tattoos on his head and a thick black beard walk under our branch. The man who had been at the front of the group joined him; he had long slightly curly black hair with gray strands streaking from where it was brushed back. Upon closer review, both men wore clothing that would have been medieval in characteristic and they looked pretty beaten.

"_This is not good…"_ I sighed.

Puppy shifted a little then, causing Abbey to fall from her light hold in her lap and to the ground below. The man from the front of the group turned around and picked up the doll, looking it over in his hands. Puppy began to panic, shifting to climb down. I locked her down in an iron grasp with one arm around her body and the other over her mouth. She started to fight me more and more 'till finally she managed to throw me from the branch we sat on. On the way down our gear and my back snapped a branch and with a large thump I landed on my back on the ground, our gear sprawled out beside us. Puppy was still clutched to me. All the wind got knocked out of me and I saw stars mixed amongst the faces of the two men that had been at the base of the tree. Puppy bit my hand to make me let go of her and with a swift motion she jumped up and snatched Abbey from the hands of the man, clutching the doll to her in a death grip. She turned to take off into the woods when the man grabbed her by the back collar of her jacket.

"What is this?" the man grunted, lifting her slightly off the ground and taking a better look at her. Then he turned on me as I propped myself up slightly on my elbow feeling a twinge of pain in my back from my fall. "Who are you and what is your business here?" he demanded.

Puppy had tears streaking down her face, her eyes wide with fright, pleading me to do something. But I said nothing nor did I do anything, I wanted to see how this started to play out before I acted. The man seemed to get agitated with my lack of response. He passed Puppy off to the other man before drawing his sword and resting the blade lightly against my neck. Behind him, everyone else began to assemble again.

"Thorin, this is highly uncalled for," a tall man dressed in gray pushed passed the others. "It is obvious that our approach scared them."

"Either that or they are spies," this man, Thorin, spat at me. He pressed the blade a little harder into my neck. "She is armed and I would rather not take any chances."

I winced a little at the pain of the blade and it did not go unnoticed by Puppy. She kicked, punched, and bit the man that was now holding her by her arm causing him to release her. Puppy then took the two steps and kicked the one named Thorin in the leg as hard as her small one would allow her. Thorin growled and push Puppy off as the next tree over rocked slightly and rustled from my companions deciding to join in the fun. I took that opportunity to kick upwards and knock the sword out of Thorin's hand. It flew behind me several feet as I flipped painfully onto my feet.

"Nico! Plan B!" I yelled, grabbing Puppy and throwing her to Sanity.

Rider unsheathed her sword, taking a protective stance in front of Sanity and Nico.

Nico looked at me like I was crazy, "What's plan b?" she yelled over Rider's shoulder.

Rider let out a dark laugh, "Run of course!"

I side kicked Thorin backwards onto his backside a few feet back and blocked a punch from baldy countering it with an uppercut punch before grabbing Puppy's and I's gear. The rest of the other group moved towards us now, put on edge by the sudden assault.

The taller man dressed in gray moved forward, "Wait!" he called out to us all for not. I looked to Rider first and nodded. She took her leave into the forest and I followed her, pulling my sword from its sheath.


	2. Chapter Two

Okies. Well in Chapter One I changed some things around, including Mouse's name. Her personality that I have in mind is more like a puppy so I renamed her alias as Puppy.

Thank you to Bluwolf08, Chezire, Ashi-Gray, Sunny-Sanity, and the two guests who reviewed Chapter One. I know that this story is kinda a shot in the dark and very odd but think I should keep with it. One guest made the suggestion that the dwarves were not acting in a way to scare all of them, but the idea that I tried to get out was that they were on edge (its more clear in chapter two), but they had really good points that I will definitely keep notes on for future chapters. Think of the girls as having more of a flight/survival reflex to a fight/ confrontation reflex.

Anyway, onto chapter two, which was a royal pain in the behind to write (xD).

* * *

Chapter Two

_Reaper's POV_

* * *

Rider and I caught up to the others pretty quickly. Puppy looked over Sanity's shoulder at me with tears rolling down her face and her eyes wide. She was truly terrified of those men. Rider made a quick sprint for the head of the group and I stayed at the rear. Our gear banged heavily against our backs as we ran. Nico and Sanity took turns carrying Puppy, passing her off every so often to regain their strength. After running for what seemed like a while we stopped to collect ourselves. Nico, who now had Puppy, set her down.

"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore…" Rider breathed, sheathing her sword. "I think we are out of danger."

I nodded my head, lungs burning. There was no sign that we had been followed.

"You were never in danger my dear," the tall man's voice came from ahead.

Snapping our heads up we saw him emerge from behind a tree in front of us. Puppy jumped over to me and slid behind me, only poking part of her head out to look at the man. The rest of us braced our legs to run again. I grabbed puppy by her arm and lifted her up moving to run again. The man waved his hand in a steady motion directed towards the ground. I went to take off and run but my feet were rooted in place… literally rooted in place.

"The fuck?!" Nico yelped as she nearly face planted from trying to move.

"My words exactly," I growled, looking down to see roots wrapped around my boots firmly.

"If you all will stand put one second I would be happy to dissolve any misconceptions that my companions caused back there," the tall man said calmly, sitting down on a nearby boulder.

"Go on…" Rider growled, sheathing her sword and crossing her arms over her chest. She was definitely not a morning person and these events had only served to deepen that thorn in her side.

"My name is Gandalf the Gray," he started, looking to us to introduce ourselves.

"Sanity," piped up Sanity herself.

"Nico."

"Rider."

Puppy and I remained quiet. The man quirked up an eyebrow at us, "And your name little girl?"

"Puppy," the little one shyly responded, leaning her head on my shoulder and pulling Abbey closer to her. I still remained quiet. "Her name is Reaper," Puppy poked my cheek with her finger.

I turned my head a little bit to shoot her a glare and she hid her head in my shoulder.

"Those are very odd names for someone… Well, what are five girls like yourselves doing out here alone?" Gandalf asked, pulling a pipe out to smoke from.

"We don't know," Puppy snapped her head to face him again. "We just appeared here yesterday…"

"Shush," I hissed at her.

Gandalf's head lifted at Puppy's words, "Yesterday? Where were you before that?"

The rumble of boots behind us caught all our attention. Our heads snapped to look behind us to see the group come into the area. Thorin and were in the front of the group.

"Thorin, do not make this any harder than this already is." Gandalf ordered.

Thorin lowered the sword that I had knocked out of his hands earlier, "They're threats."

"They've been momentarily immobilized," Gandalf sighed gesturing to our feet.

"Nice work Gandalf!" a brown haired younger man from behind Thorin cheered.

Thorin stuck the end of his sword in the ground and relaxed his stance a little. His eyes never shifted from the five of us.

"Pup, if I have to put you down, you run. Ok?" I whispered in her ear, looking away from Thorin. "Run and don't look back."

Puppy wrapped her arms around my neck and tightened her hold. "Nooo," she whined.

I sighed, pulling on her to let go.

"Anyways, back to you little one?" Gandalf smiled as Puppy turned to look at him, releasing her death grip on my neck. "You were telling me where you all were before yesterday…"

I put Puppy down suddenly now that she was distracted. She looked up at me shocked and I pointed to the woods. She threw her foot down in a tantrum. I growled through my teeth at her. We never used words in our fights only expressions and gestures. Outsiders would think we were crazy. Puppy whined and stomped her foot again. I pointed back to the woods and she shook her head. I raised both of my eyebrows, pursing my lips in a final warning. She turned her back on me then and stormed over to stand directly in front of Gandalf. Puppy faced me then and stuck her tongue out at me before looking back to Gandalf. I pulled and fought the roots that held my feet in place, growling at her.

"She gets it from you, you know?" Nico laughed at my expense and Puppy's little show of disobedience.

"She's right, she does get it from you," Sanity laughed along.

"Shut up," I growled at both of them, causing them to laugh even harder.

I heard some male chuckles from behind me.

"We were in a building…" Puppy began, fully focused on Gandalf now, her back to the rest of us. "A big group of dead had been following us. Rider and Reaper broke into a building to get us out of the rain and away from the dead. The dead followed us. The doors broke from there being too many. Reaper put me in a corner and they all got ready to fight. There was no way out. Then there was a big flash of light and we all fell backwards and then we were here… in the woods… and there were some of the dead too!" Puppy threw her hands up in the air. "Nico and Sanity put me in a tree and they killed all the dead that followed us here…"

"Dead? What do you mean by the dead?" Thorin asked, looking at the rest of us as he strode over to Gandalf.

Puppy cowered away from Thorin as he stopped next to her. His gaze turned to Puppy and he knelt down in front of her, "I'm sorry I scared you earlier."

She nodded her head and smiled, "Dead are people… who died but still walk…" her brow furrowed. "And if they catch you they eat you!"

Gandalf looked to the rest of us, "Is this true?"

"We also call them walkers, biters, infected, and zombies," Rider shrugged. "But Pup seems to understand 'dead' the best, so the four of us mostly call them that."

"Gandalf, could that spell you used to disrupt the goblins have brought them here?" the younger brown haired man from earlier asked.

"It must have been," a young blonde said stepping forward. "That spell did knock us on our backsides too. But why did they end up out here and not in the goblin caves?"

"It must have been a quirk with the spell. Fate brought them here we know not why," Gandalf nodded his head.

"Where are you all from?" Thorin asked leaning on his knee.

"Virginia," Rider shrugged.

"Florida," Sanity sighed.

"Maryland," Nico replied.

"Nowhere in particular," I grunted.

"Everyone is from somewhere…" Gandalf scowled a little at my obvious attitude.

"Fort Frederick, Virginia…" I glared at him.

Thorin looked a little confused, "and this is obviously your daughter so she is from the same place you are. I have not heard of these places, where are they?"

"She's not my mommy!" Puppy jumped slightly. "I'm from… I'm from… I don't remember," she hung her head.

Thorin looked at her surprised then back to me.

"I found her," I sighed, giving up on the whole charade. "After the fort fell I started wandering to and fro and happened upon her parent's vehicle a few minutes too late to help them, but I was able to save her. Pup," she looked over at me. "Your family's car had a Maryland license plate."

"That's it! I'm from Maryland!" Puppy cheered.

"Where are these places? I have never heard of them," another man, all grayed hair stepped forwards.

"United States of America?" I shrugged as I looked at him.

"Never heard of it," Baldy grunted.

"Maybe a better question would be where are we?" Rider shifted her weight a little.

"Why my dear, you are in Middle Earth, just west of the Misty Mountains," Gandalf smiled slightly.

"Does not ring a bell to me…" Rider sighed, "Damn."

Nico turned to look at me, "We must be dead Reaps. Those damned things finally got us."

Puppy plopped herself on the ground and began to cry.

"A little help here?" I waved to Gandalf about undoing the roots.

"Oh yes," he waved his hand again and the roots sunk back into the ground.

I shed our rucksacks but left my rifle and sword on my back. Thorin looked as though he had no idea what to do with the crying child. I walked over and stopped next to her, looking down at her. She looked up at me with her endless stream of tears rolling down her little cheeks.

"Reaper…" she cried as she stood up and held up her arms. I picked her up and hugged her.

"What Pup?" I rubbed her back.

"I want my mommy and daddy," she cried. "I don't want to be dead."

"I know," I murmured, rocking a little side to side.

Gandalf stood up then, and it was the first time in a very long time that I truly felt short. He was possibly a good two and a half feet taller than me. Thorin stood as well and he was a full head taller than me.

"Perhaps you ladies can join us till the next city so you do not get lost," Gandalf offered. Thorin shot him a half glare. The two exchanged looks.

"Umm…" I took a step back from them. "I don't think that would be necessary."

"Nonsense, you are not from here so you do not know where to go, nor do you know the threats that lurk out here," Gandalf waived his hand. "You five will travel with us until we find a safe place for you."

Thorin looked like he was going to argue but was silenced with another look from Gandalf, "Yes."

"Come on now," Gandalf said walking off back the way we had all run from.

Nico and Sanity picked up Puppy's and my packs sending me a timid smile. I smiled back at them, still rocking Puppy who was still crying. Thorin stayed at my side. Rider was completely focused on him in case he tried to do anything.

He cleared his throat, "You all are definitely more than welcome to join us as Gandalf said. I'm sorry about earlier. We are all just on edge after leaving the mountains…"

I nodded my head to him, "We were all on edge it seems. If it wasn't for Pup fighting me up in that tree, we might have gone unnoticed by all of you."

He chuckled at that, "She fought you?"

"That's how we fell," I laughed. "She loves her Abbey that's for sure. More protective over her doll than she is anything else." I started to follow Gandalf and the rest of both of our groups. Thorin stayed at my side during the walk back to the river.

Puppy leaned back a little in my arms then, "Reaper?" she sniffed, wiping her eyes.

"Hmm?" I looked at her and kissed her on her cheek.

"I'm hungry," she murmured.

"Me too… what should we have to eat?" I laughed. "MREs?"

"Ewww! No! We had that last night!" she giggled, her five year old mood swings taking hold now.

"Then what?"

"I dunno," she shrugged.

"I'm afraid we have no supplies to offer. The goblins took nearly everything," Thorin added.

"I'm pretty sure we have some MREs we can spare!" Rider called from ahead of us. "They're not mother's home cooking though."

"Hey now, I actually like MREs," I laughed.

"Yeah, well that's because you lived off those damn things god knows how long," she jabbed back. "Your taste buds are all destroyed."

"MREs?" Thorin asked looking concerned.

"Meals Ready to Eat," I stated. "Military food back home. Practically never go bad."

He nodded his head.

"The river!" Puppy cheered.

"What?" I asked, completely confused.

"We're going back to the river right?" she cheered. "Well there is fish in there right?"

"Yeah…"

"We can fish and have fish!" she cheered. "We haven't had fish in a loooong time."

I chuckled, "And how do you propose we catch the fish? Don't suppose you have a fishing pole?"

"Oh…" her brow furrowed again, deep in thought.

"Don't you worry Pup!" Sanity called ahead. "Rider and I will catch you some fish!"

"How?" I yelled up at them.

Sanity's only response was pointing to the bow strapped across her back.

I looked back to Puppy, "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"


	3. Chapter Three

Thank you for all the reviews! This chapter is a bit longer than the others just because there was no where to really cut it sooner. But its not excruciatingly long.

Enjoy!

P.S. There is a term in here - Snow hoe - my friends and I use it all the time with each other, it means a white girl who acts gangster. Its used in a best friend name calling context.

* * *

Chapter Three

_Reaper's POV  
_

* * *

We all made camp back at the river where we had been the day before. Thorin barked orders to and fro around the camp as the other men went about getting settled. The younger guys broke down the wall of rocks around the fire pit that we had made the day before. The others went about collecting firewood and searching for food. Puppy and I gathered our things a little away from them. Even though we were on better terms than before, I was definitely still weary of them. Guess it was just my nature to be suspicious and weary of people now.

On the way back to camp, Gandalf had given us everyone else's names. Baldy's name was really Dwalin and his older brother was the grayed man, Balin. The two of the three younger looking men were nephews of Thorin and their names were Fili and Kili. Kili was the younger brother and the brunet, and Fili was the oldest with blonde hair. The other younger man was Ori, whose brothers were Dori, who wore his hair mostly braided, and Nori, who's hair reminded me of a star. Bombur was on the largest of the group and had one large ginger braid that hung down in front of him like a large necklace almost. Oin was old and grayed and Gloin was the other ginger of the group. Then there was Bifur and Bofur. Bifur had black and gray spiky long hair. Bofur had black hair that looked like Pippy Longstocking's. Finally, was Bilbo, who was apparently a hobbit… whatever that was. He was shorter than the rest of them by around a few inches to a foot; he was also barefoot and had big hairy feet. But other than that I couldn't really tell the difference.

Sanity and Rider took their bows over towards the large rocks that overhung the river a little bit. My nervousness about Sanity with a bow was going through the roof. She was still technically learning from Rider and I, though we had not found a safe place to practice for a few months. I was never brave enough to put a gun in her hands again after she shot a dead closing in on me with her eyes closed. The bullet had barely missed me, grazing my cheek and leaving a faint scar. Looking around the camp, I noticed that the younger guys were now focused on watching Rider and Sanity.

There was a tug at my arm and looking down I saw Puppy holding out her bathing suit to me, "Can we go swimming Reaper?"

"Uhh… I don't know girly," I chuckled, looking around to all the guys and seeing Nico approach.

Nico smiled, looking down at Puppy. "Well, I want to go swimming too!" she cheered happily to the little girl.

Puppy looked back up to me with a wide smile on her face and her eyes glimmering from happiness, "How can I say no to that face?" I laughed. "Come on, we'll change over there behind the trees."

I dug through my backpack and pulled out my old bikini. We all had raided a store to have them for washing so we would never truly be exposed with the dead looming. There were a couple of times too that they had come in handy when we needed to flee. Nico and I grabbed Puppy by both arms lead her behind a group of trees. Once we had changed I bundled Puppy's clothes in my arms and took her hand. I had redressed in my torn skinny jeans and t-shirt over top of my swimming suit. I didn't like the prospect of swimming right now so I had decided to just keep watch and wash clothes. Nico was going to wear an old shirt and shorts over top of hers into the water with Puppy. The men had their eyes fixed on us as we emerged out from the woods again. No one said anything. Nico helped me rustle through everyone's rucksacks to grab our dirty clothes. She picked Puppy up and began to walk over to Sanity and Rider with me trailing behind with the bundle of clothes

"Sanity! Rider! Could you shoot up stream a little bit?" Nico called out to them smiling.

"What the hell, guys?!" I heard Rider yell back. "We be workin and you're gonna go swimming?"

"Nah! Reaper is washing clothes and I'm washing munchkin!" Nico laughed.

Rider mock glared at us.

"Not like you're gonna catch much!" I shouted with a smirk. "Your aim sucks!"

"Excuse me?!" Rider huffed and put her hand on her hip.

"You heard me!"

"I am armed missy!"

"I can see that. Whether if it is a threat has yet to be determined," I stuck my tongue out at the both of them as we stopped on the rocky top.

I heard some chuckles come from the men who were now behind us. Our bickering was amusing apparently. Rider rolled her eyes and nudged Sanity towards upstream. I dropped the clothes on the rocks at the edge near the water then turned back to the Sanity and Rider.

"Thanks guys," I smiled. "Just make sure not to confuse us with the fish," I chuckled.

Sanity's head snapped to me, an evil look in her eye. She dropped her bow on the ground and pushed me as hard as she could back into the water. When I came up everyone was dead silent, not knowing how to react. I possibly looked like a half drowned dog, coughing up a lung full of water. The water was only a little above my waist.

Sanity had both her hands over her mouth. "I'm soooo sorry!" she cried. "I don't know what came over me!"

I shrugged, "Mind helping me out then?"

"Sure, of course," she nodded her head.

She came over to the edge of the rock. Looking up a little I saw that the men had started to gather nearby, curious to see what was going to happen. Sanity leaned down, holding out her hand for me to take it, an apology written all over her face. I grasped it hard with one of my gloved hands and pulled hard, pulling her into the water just over my head. Laughter erupted from the men and Puppy. Sanity burst from the water and began to splash water back at me.

"Snow hoe!" she giggled at me sending a large wave my way. "You did that on purpose!"

I threw my hand up to block the water. She stopped suddenly and her mouth dropped, "Reaper is smiling!"

"Nuh uh!" I teased back.

"Reaper?" Puppy called behind me.

I turned to her, "What?"

Her eyes lit up and her adorable smile spread across her face, "She is!" she squeaked pulling Abbey into a tighter squeeze.

I knew I was; I couldn't help it. I waved Puppy over to the edge of the rock.

"I don't want you to pull me in," she hesitated from coming forward.

"I won't," I smiled to her more. "Come on, I'm here."

She came close and I held both of my hands up to her. Puppy bent her knees and leaned over a little into my hands. I lifted her up under her arms and pulled her to me, her feet dipping down into the water as I stepped backwards clearing the rock more. Slowly I set her down into the cool water in front of me. I looked down on her, her blonde head all dirty and frizzy from the infrequent care, her little baby face all covered in dirt, and her big blue doll eyes staring up at me with the child smile still plastered on her face.

"Can Abbey have a bath too?" she asked, strangling the doll a little more.

I chuckled, "Yes of course."

I looked up to see the men crowding the rock now to watch with amusement. Something littered their eyes for a fleeting second before an arm wrapped around my neck and twisted me backwards back down into the water. I twisted and turned till I got free and upon coming up saw that our little insane Sanity was the one to do it. I tackled her under and we wrestled for a couple of minutes, giggling and carrying on like children till finally I had her locked in a headlock, her face just millimeters from the surface of the water.

"You really wanna pick a fight with a wolf, huh fox?" I teased.

"You're getting soft old woman!" she laughed back.

"I'll show you soft snow hoe!"

I kicked one of her feet up through the water and leaned down and snagged it in the crook of my arm. In a split second I flipped onto my back and took us both down into the water, Sanity yelping as she submerged. When we came up I was laughing even harder and Sanity was sputtering from some inhaled water. I could hear everyone laughing then. Little hands gripped my shoulders and a little foot placed itself on the back of my leg and then my lower back till finally I had Puppy standing on my back.

"Save Sanity!" she squeaked and put me in a headlock in her little arms. "Sannie I'll hold her!"

"Is that so?" I queried evilly over my shoulder at Puppy.

The men were laughing even harder now. Most of them sitting and watching as our little battle went on and others were doubled over in laughter. I looked towards Gandalf who was leaning on his staff, with a grandfatherly smile present. Thorin was standing next to him and I felt my heart sink at his smile.

"_What…?" _I felt my face heat a little and looked away quickly. _"That smile…" _

I grabbed little one by the back of her one piece bathing suit and pulled her off my back over my shoulder. She squeaked as she hit the water. I sunk down and picked her up pulling her to me and began tickling her.

"You little rascal!" I laughed, tickling her more. "You'd betray me so easily?"

"Can't. Breathe!" she giggled harder and harder.

That's when even more hell broke loose as Nico jumped in and came after me. Sanity wrapped her arms around me to pin my arms to my side as Nico dove and knocked the two of us backwards. Sanity and I submerged backwards and she let go of me. Both of us came back up laughing.

"Why you all ganging up on me?!" I chuckled.

Rider sat down on the edge of the rock, "Reaps, you prolly deserve it one way or another."

"Innocent little me?" I tried to hide the growing smile as I saw Puppy emerge from the water at the shore and stealthily moved past the men who were watching her to the back of Rider.

"Innocent my ass!" she laughed back. "Where's Puppy?" she looked around concerned.

"Pouncing lesson," I shrugged as Puppy got ready to push Rider.

"Lion King reference… really?" she laughed again.

"Really!" Puppy cheered as she pushed Rider with all her might off of the rock and into the water.

When Rider emerged from the water she was pissed. Her eyes read that she was going to kill us. The men burst out laughing in another round as Rider turned around and splashed water up at Puppy, hitting a couple of the guys with water.

"Oy!" a couple of them cried out as the water hit them.

"Sorry," Rider grumbled, glaring at Puppy.

Puppy did her most innocent look then jumped back into the water next to Rider, drenching her face and splashing the men some more. Rider scooped Puppy up and threw her out to me in the water.

"Keep your little demon on a leash will ya!" she finally broke out into a smile, climbing back out of the water and peeling her soaked riding jacket off of her.

I nodded my head, chuckling some more as I peeled my soaked shirt off over my head. The men diverted their gaze quickly.

"She got a swimming suit on you know! She ain't naked!" I heard Nico laughingly scold.

I felt my face flush again and turned to glare at her. The evil smile plastered on her face scared me. Sanity and Nico took theirs off too and laughed at the flush on the men's faces. I leaned down in the water and took my combat boots and socks off. Sanity's face dropped as she saw me swim over to the ledge and toss them up there. The men began to disperse then, obviously embarrassed.

"Oh no! I got your boots wet!" she cried.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'll put them by the fire tonight and they'll dry out," I shrugged to her. "They've been through far worse."

I turned back to see Thorin, Fili, and Kili talking with their backs to me. "Can someone pass me that bottle there?" I asked pointing to the towels and plastic bottle of shampoo that rested on top of them.

Fili picked it up and tossed it to me, "Thanks," I nodded my head with a smile.

"What is it?" Fili asked curious as to the bottle. "Shampoo."

He tilted his head sideways, confused.

"Hair soap," I chuckled turning back to Puppy when he nodded in understanding.

Rider came back into view then; Gloin, Oin, Bifur, and Bofur were following shortly behind her, carrying a decent size hog.

"Holy cow Rider!" Puppy called out to her as I began to scrub her hair.

"Well you three were so intent on scaring the fish off…" she growled in our direction, coming to a stop and sitting on the log with Gandalf. "I figured I would try my luck in the woods."

"Come get cleaned up girlie!" Sanity called, snagging the bottle of shampoo from me as I continued to scrub Puppy. Rider kicked off her boots and jumped in.

"Bombur says he'll cook the hog," she informed me, pulling her shirt off over her head and snagging the shampoo from Sanity and Nico.

I nodded my head smiling slightly, "After little one is clean and dressed, I'll focus on the clothes."

"Nico and I can do that Reaps," Sanity piped up. "You had watch last night and haven't had any rest. Besides, that way we can get ours clean and maybe you can hang them up by the fire, so they are dry by the time we are done… seeing as you have clean clothes from last time still."

I shrugged. "Sure." I looked down at a very sudsy Puppy, "Dunk and rinse," I smiled, pulling my long hair down from the messy bun I had it in and snagging the shampoo back.

After my own hair was washed and rinsed I turned back to Puppy to finish washing the rest of her so that she was all squeaky clean for the first time in months. We were all clean for the first time in months; able to laugh and play without worry of attracting the dead to us. Everything seemed a little brighter.


	4. Chapter Four

_**Ok, I know it has been a while for this update but I have been really busy at work and school (full time for both do bear with me. But I have this chapter and chapter five to post so its a big update. I'll get chapter six out before the weekend since I will be on a camping trip dealing with twenty crazy little girl scouts. **_

_**And I have been forgetting to post it but I do not own The Hobbit (obviously). But my OCs are mine.  
**_

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**Chapter Four**

I had let Puppy play in the water and given her another swimming lesson for a little while longer after she was cleaned. Nico and Sanity had gotten a set of their clothes washed, and I hung them up to dry by the campfire earlier. All of the men except Bombur, who was cooking the hog that Rider had gotten, had gone down stream to clean themselves up and were already on their way back. I pulled Puppy from the river, and picked up both of our old beach towels. Draping hers over her head and bundling her up from the late afternoon cool breeze, I picked her up and walked over to the campfire with mine draped over my shoulder.

"Stay there little one," I said putting her down on a log by Rider near the fire, a little ways from Kili and Fili.

Puppy wrapped the towel around her tighter, her teeth chattering, "Oookk."

I grabbed my rucksack real quick and changed behind the trees; pulling on my old black cargo skinny jeans and plain gray shirt over top of some clean undergarments. I deposited my rucksack back where it had originally rested and grabbed Puppy's pack. Rider came over and took my old wet clothes from me and took them over to Nico and Sanity.

"Alright Pup," I chuckled as she curled up as small as she could. "I have to wrestle with that hair of yours before it gets too dried."

I pulled her brush out of her bag and sat her on the ground in front of the log between my legs. Slowly and carefully I worked my way through her really tangled hair, muttering apologies every time she whimpered when I tugged a little too hard.

"What is the place you are from like?" Kili asked, looking to Rider as she walked back into the group and placed my boots down by the fire.

"Thanks, man," I smirked at her, "I forgot all about those."

She nodded in response to me and turned to Kili as she sat down next to me on the log, "Well before hell froze over it was really pretty. I lived out on a ranch with my mom and dad. Daily chores were to take care of the horses and livestock. Pretty simplistic life but I liked it. There was nothing better than taking my horse out and riding her through the hills and trees."

A whistle caught my attention from their conversation. Nico was motioning for me to bring them their mostly dry clothes over. I climbed out from behind Puppy and snagged their clothes for them. After I handed them their clothes I went back to the group by the fire. The sun was sinking and cooler air breezed through the trees. I scooped up Puppy and her bag and took her to the tree line to change her. Once she was changed we went back to the log and I had her sit in my lap as I decided what to do with her combed out hair.

"Rider, you had horses?" Puppy asked, looking over to the other.

"Yep, raised them, trained them, and raced them," she smiled over at Puppy.

"I never been on a horse before," Puppy noted. "Could you teach me sometime?"

Rider nodded, still smiling at the curious little girl in my lap as I began to French braid her long golden locks. Nico and Sanity came back into the campsite, giggling and plopped down onto the ground by us.

"Sanity? What did you use to be?" Puppy asked leaning forward. I gave her a little tug back.

"I was an artist," Sanity beamed. "My favorite stuff to do was creating Manga, which is like comics but in a different style. I could create a story to go along with the things I drew."

Puppy's eyes were wide and big with excitement, "Nico, what did you use to do?"

"I was a wildlife veterinarian."

"A veternimaian?" Puppy stumbled.

"Vet-er-nar-ian. I was an animal doctor. That's why I had some idea as to how to keep all of us nice and healthy," Nico chuckled at Puppy.

"Reaper?" Puppy asked, looking over her shoulder to me.

I stopped mid braid and looked back at her. Dread sunk in as I looked back at her. "I was…" I began and glanced around to the others. "I was nothing of any importance."

Puppy's brow furrowed at my response.

"How long have you lassies been together?" Bofur interjected.

"Ummm… A year, give or take a few months. Reaps and Pup have been together longer though," Sanity shrugged.

"And you are just now learning these things about each other?" Thorin crossed his arms over his chest.

"When you could die tomorrow it's best to not share too much, makes loss a little easier to deal with the loss," I shrugged. "You're able to get your mind focused on survival and not the dead body that was a friend."

Thorin's brow furrowed at my response.

"Back there, we were not friends," Rider piped up to help the explanation. "We were each other's meal tickets. It's easier to survive with multiple people that you can trust with your life than on your own."

Throin nodded his head slightly but then shook it, "I still do not fully understand."

"You probably never will," Sanity laughed. "We're pretty crazy if you haven't noticed."

"Speak for yourself," I laughed back at her.

"Food is ready," Bombur licked his lips eagerly as I finished braiding Puppy's hair and tied it off.

I patted her back, "Go get our mess kits."

Puppy bounced over to our rucksacks and grabbed all of our mess kits and skipped back over with them all in her arms. She handed them out as I ran the brush quickly though my hair, stopping in front of me while I tied it back into a messy bun again.

"We move out at first light in the morning," Thorin's voice thundered through the group. "Where we will be going will be dangerous, but we will escort you to the next place before leaving you."

"And where exactly is this next place?" I asked leaning forward on my knees.

"I have a dear friend who lives a little way away from here that you will be safe with my dear," Gandalf spoke up. "Beorn will keep you safe from the Orcs and other things in these woods."

"Orcs?" Puppy repeated as a screech came through the air from a distance away.

"The fuck was that?!" I jumped up from my spot looking around.

"That was some distance away my dear," Gandalf puffed some smoke from his pipe. "but that was indeed an Orc."

"Probably those hunting us," Dwalin growled from his spot next to Thorin.

I sent them a glare, "And you are now just telling us this because…?"

No one spoke up. I growled a little to myself before sitting back down on the log next to the now sitting Puppy who was munching away at her bowl of stew. I pulled my pack of cigarettes out of the front pocket of my jacket and put one in my mouth. My nerves were off the chart at the new information.

"Hey, Reaper? Last supply run did you find any cigs for me?" Nico eyed me from a few feet away.

"Choose your words wisely Reaps…" Rider chuckled in my ear.

"Uhhh… no. The shop I raided was out of Nico Time Cigs. Sorry girlie," I nervously laughed. "You can have some of mine…" I pulled one out of the pocket and held it out to her.

The expressions that crossed her face would have been priceless if it wasn't for the fact that I was bracing myself for her attack. Then suddenly she bolted at me and snatched the cigarette from my hand and ran off into the woods.

"Should we go after her?" Kili asked, confusion apparent of his face as well as the others.

"No way in hell," I laughed, puffing on my cigarette and putting the pack away. "Not unless you wanna die. She'll be back, don't worry."

"You do realize that she is going to raid you rucksack in the night, right?" Sanity laughed. "I can't wait to hear you scream bloody murder when you wake up from a hand moving in your makeshift pillow."

"Damn… I only got two packs left…" I grumbled.

"She'll kill them before you know it. You smoke for nerves, she smokes because she is addicted," Rider snapped her fingers.

I ran my free hand down my face, sighing.

"You smoke because of your nerves lass?" Balin asked from across the fire.

"Yea, after something bad happens or I get bad news I smoke," I shrugged. "Bad news now being that we might have landed in frying pan after being defrosted…"

"You have nothing to worry my dear," Gandalf moved behind me and put one of his big hands on my shoulder. "I have a friend who lives a little farther into the forest. I'm sure that he will allow us to stay a few days to get ourselves reorganized."

"Oh good," I growled, looking to Rider. "He has a friend."

Puppy smacked me upside the back of the head, "Be nice!" she scolded me.

I glared at her a little, "You know kid… you're five. Act like it."

She glared back at me till I was distracted by a hand snaking its way into my jacket pocket. I smacked it real hard and heard Nico yelp.

"Knock it off! You need to quit anyway!" I growled at her.

"Pot calling the kettle black?" She rubbed her hand as she humphed and sat down on the log near Bilbo.

"Dude, you'll die of lung cancer!"

"You smoke too miss high and mighty!"

"Not as fuckin' often as you!"

"Chill you two!" Sanity yelled over top of us from her spot by Fili. "Just relax. Everything will be ok, we just need to go with the flow, keep a set of eyes on our back, and our guard up. Right Rider?"

Rider slapped me on the shoulder, "Right."

"Now kiss and make up," Sanity giggled. I threw a small rock her way and she dodged it. "I am getting good at that!" She laughed and pointed at me.

I growled and stood up putting out my cig butt, "I'm going to bed. Come on Pup its past your bed time. Nico I'm happy to share but if I catch you trying to swipe… I'll break every bone in that hand. Capiche?"

Nico nodded her head slowly. Puppy was close to me but she suddenly jumped around and glared at Nico, "Swiper no swipey!"

Her squeaky little five year old voice broke all of us out into laughing. Even the guys were chuckling. Pup skipped back over to me as I laid out her sleeping bag and mine. It was going to be a long night.


	5. Chapter Five

**_Here is chapter five! It is really long. Like over 3000 words long. Have fun! I'll have another chapter posted hopefully tomorrow or the next. _**

**_I wanna do a shout out to one of my best friends who edited this tonight NicoTimeCigarettes! Girl your be awesome! Also a big thank you to all my reviewers and favoriters. Without you all I would've lost my perseverance by now. 3  
_**

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_Chapter Five_

It was an early morning for everyone. I was the first to wake from the sounds of the men mumbling and breaking down camp. Puppy stirred at my side as I stretched, and began to sit up and we both began packing our bags which in turn woke the others up. Walking around, we shared our good mornings with the others and got ready for the hike ahead of us. Gandalf asked us to walk at the back of the group so that he would have a chance to talk to his friend before our appearance shocked him. All of us obliged with nothing more than a worrisome look amongst each other.

Puppy was my little trooper of course, holding my hand along the hike and never once complaining about anything. She was all smiles and happiness. A little ways into the hike I noticed that Fili and Sanity were walking and talking with each other behind me, along with Kili and Rider behind them, and finally there was Nico and Bilbo in front of me. It seemed to me that the boys had taken up interest in the girls. I could not help but smile to myself and feel a little pang of jealousy but was quickly pulled from the thought by Puppy who started skipping alongside me. It was late afternoon before we got to Gandalf's friend's house.

Beorn was his name. He was a big burly man whose home was quite large compared to all of in our group. Animals roamed to and fro and did not seem scared of any of us. One of the dogs came up to Pup and licked her cheeks as she petted it, giggling. Beorn eyed all of us suspiciously as Gandalf explained what the men had gone through in the mountains. He lightly touched upon the girls and me saying that we were lost in the forest and they had found us. Beorn agreed to help everyone resupply and give us a few days shelter within his house. He gave the girls and I one room and spread the guys out amongst some others.

We all settled around the fireplace for dinner, sitting on the floor. Beorn had gone out for a little while, leaving the guys and us girls to our own devices. We all talked amongst each other about the food and largeness of the house.

"Gandalf?" Puppy asked, walking up to him. "Are there a lot of people as tall as you?"

Gandalf looked at her curiously then smiled, "Why yes little one. Most of middle earth is."

"How tall are you?" she asked, sitting on the floor in front of him like he was about to tell her a story.

"Well, I suppose I am about five foot six inches," he puffed on his pipe.

I spit the soup that was in my mouth back into the bowl causing everyone to look at me.

"You alright my dear?" Gandalf asked, puffing some more on his pipe.

"I'm five, five," I shot him a confused look.

"No you're not!" Kili laughed. "You are shorter than me!"

I sent Gandalf a glare to which he shrugged, "Must be a quirk of the back fire of the spell."

"Is that your explanation to everything?!" I scolded him.

"Just think that God did it and leave it alone," Rider teased and laughed.

I scratched the back of my head, "First off, I'm agnostic, and secondly, how are you not a little bothered by this?"

Rider looked at me with mock shock then broke out into laughter with Sanity, "I'm not really shocked at all. Agnostics still believe in a higher being."

"When there is no other explanation… you know what, just shut up," I mock glared at her for proving me wrong.

Everyone broke out laughing, including myself.

I turned my attention back to Kili after I could breathe again, "So then why are you so short compared to Gandalf?"

"That is because we are dwarves," he answered completely serious and looking at me like I was a complete idiot. "Is that not obvious?"

"Dwarves as in birth defect or race?" Nico asked jumping in.

"I'm gonna guess race in this instance," I laughed a little. "And if that is the case you can't hate us for asking. There are no such thing as dwarves as a race back home."

Kili shrugged as the others chuckled, "Fair enough. But you're all still shorter than me munchkins!"

"Da hell did you just call me?" Rider glared and punched him lightly in the arm.

"Did he just call us munchkins?" Sanity jumped, looking over at me.

"That he did," I laughed harder, nearly falling over from the look of half rage and half surprise on her face.

"Dude, we know where you sleep. So watch it," Sanity pointed her fork evily at him.

"Is that a threat?" he mock glared back.

"No it's a promise," Rider laughed out again. "Don't tempt her, she might be small but she is a ball of fire when you tick her off."

"Was it Reaper or Sanity that hung that one guy up by his feet from that tree and left him there for calling them short?" Nico giggled at the memory. "He definitely ended up walker bait."

"No no no!" I laughed. "Don't pin that one on me! That was totally her!"

"Actually I think the one she is thinking about was you Reaper…" Sanity was deep in thought. "Walker bait… I never left anyone to die but I did duct tape them to a tree for that."

"Oh yeah," I sighed a little feeling the eyes of everyone on me. "But that guy did deserve what was coming to him. I just helped the walkers get him," the guys were all staring at me now waiting for an explanation. "He and his friends tried to cannibalize everyone when I was out on a raiding trip. Thank god I came back at the right time or else they would have been totally done for…" I shrugged.

"So they tried to eat everyone?" Fili asked intently.

"Yeah," Nico sighed. "We thought they were just a group like us so we had invited them to stay with us when Reaps was gone. But they had gone mad from the lack of food. Knocked us all out and tied us up waiting for the fire to be ready to cook. Then they were cutting our jackets and shirts off getting ready to dismember us when two arrows hit two of them in the middle of their foreheads. She charged in and knocked one out and killed two others. One ran off down the hill and she went after him, grabbing her rifle. Sniped him from prolly a hundred yards away."

"Never been more terrified in my life," Rider shuddered.

"She beat the crap outta the one she knocked out until he answered her questions like if there were more of them and where were they camping out. By then, the dead were starting to appear and the rest of us were packed up. She strung him up in tree by his feet and left him for the dead."

"It takes a lot to get me that pissed where I'd beat someone to a pulp and then leave them for dead like that. It's honestly the only time I got like that," I shrugged feeling the eyes back on me. "I'd had run ins with their kind before and there is no dealing with them logically. They only respond in fear when they feel that their own lives are in danger."

"Killing them was the only answer," Thorin stated from the other side of the group, his eyes staring me down.

I nodded my head, putting my finished bowl of soup down on the ground in front of me, "If there were other survivors elsewhere then their existence would be threatened by them. Better thing was to take them out while you could and not let any get away. Letting one get away meant you risked the possibility of more coming for revenge. It was not just because they threatened my family; it was because they were also a threat to other survivors."

"Old time social justice," Rider spoke up, looking at me. "Or rather… martial law… Same sort of martial law that the president explained would be enacted with the military before communications were all lost…" Rider was glaring at me now. "You were a soldier."

Our eyes were locked on one another before I finally swallowed hard and responded, "Yeah, I was a soldier."

"You were a soldier?" Puppy gasped.

I nodded my head.

"Being a soldier is not disgraceful," Dwalin interjected on my behalf.

"They are when they are mass murdering psycho paths," Rider growled.

Again, everyone was looking at me, "I will not deny that there were many instances in which the military's response was questionable. Believe me I felt the same way," I swallowed again, daring to meet Rider's gaze. "But orders were orders, and I did my best to save those I could."

"Then what happened?" Balin asked.

"When my commanding officer ordered me to have my unit massacre the civilians that were taking shelter with us I refused," all the guys looked shocked. "He repeated the order, insisting that the civilians were infected. I insisted my refusal, knowing that the protocol that I had put in place was holding. We forced people to waive their civil rights temporarily in order to gain access to the shelter of the base. I know it sounds bad, but all we did was force the men and women to separate and strip down to nothing for inspection. We needed to make sure that no infected were making it onto base. Men and boys were inspected by men; women and girls were inspected by women. No exceptions. When my team and I would leave base, upon our return we were inspected ourselves. It was the only guarantee that we would be able to keep the base from falling to the dead."

"What happened to those that were infected?" Nico interjected.

"They were given a choice," I sighed. "Either they could opt out or they could leave."

"Opt out?" Ori asked.

"Kill themselves, or have one of us kill them. Their family was given an option too…" I sighed. "Most of them chose the opt out option… But after the inspection, families were reunited and given quarters and a warm meal. But I was sure that the protocol that I had put in place was secure. No infected were on base. So when my commanding officer was getting paranoid and falling victim to hysteria, I knew to stand my ground. He stripped me of my position and rank and had me thrown in the brig to await a court martial. Most likely I was going to be put to death for my treason."

"Then what happened to the base?" Sanity spoke up.

"The base fell. All the hard work that I had done was gone. Some of the men in my unit came in and released me. They put a bag over my head and ziptied my hands behind my back like they were moving me to the execution grounds. I heard orders being given by a sergeant that I didn't like. It sounded like he was ordering people to dig. He stopped mid order to inspect what the guys were doing with me. He pulled the bag off my head and laughed at me when I cried out when hair went with it. He roughed me up pretty good and the guys just let it happen. Then he made me watch as he ordered the civilians to stop their digging and the soldiers to take their mark. That's when the cries from the civilians started." I felt tears rolling down my face now. "Daniels, Verdas, Forester… all my men were on my side in this matter. They had tried to warn the civilians of what fate was waiting them but no one listened. They believed the general of the base when he told them that it was my idea to have them all executed so that no suspicion would arise as to why I was arrested. No one believed them… I was the one to make sure they had clothes and supplies and food. I made sure that the school was stocked with supplies for the children. I was the one who found them when my team and I would go off base for supplies. And no one would believe them. None of them could be saved." I cleared my throat and wiped the back of my hand over my eyes. "My men didn't want to cause suspicion of them dragging me off, so they remained where they stood as the shots started. Then Daniels and Forester grabbed me under my arms and hauled me off before that jackass Sargent knew what was going on. But I still saw everything, even as they threw me into the back of one of the two loaded up Humvees that they had stealthily prepared the night before."

"No one said a thing for days and two months later I was all alone," I put my head on my knees. "I grew up in a military family. My father was in the army. He never had any sons, only three daughters. I was the oldest. Being in the Military was honorable. But then the world went to hell and everyone went crazy. I was never able to find my sisters or my father after that. Before everything, I was a military police officer. I handled investigations and interceptions of our enemy spies and terrorists. I wasn't cut out to be telling innocent people that they had a day to live or that they had to leave a safe haven or kill themselves. But yet I did it."

I felt two sets of arms wrap around me.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't judge. Not every soldier was bad. I'm sorry," Rider whispered to me, squeezing me a little tighter in a hug. "I know I have done things that I regret."

"Reaper, are you ok?" Puppy mumbled as she squeezed her arms a little around me as well.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I cried. "I guess I just never let it sink in what really happened. I always ran away from it."

Puppy gave up on the hug and started to wiggle her head up under my arms. I started to laugh through my crying and leaned up when Rider let go. Puppy jumped on my me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I don't like it when you cry!" she started crying and squeezed me tight. "Please stop!"

I started laughing harder, which caused the guys to smile, "Pup I can't breathe!"

"Well if you stop crying then I'll let you breathe," she cried still.

I pried her little hands from around my neck and sat her in my lap. I used my thumbs to wipe away her tears and she mimicked me to do the same to me. I smiled down at her small self in my lap.

"I would say lassie that redemption came your way with little one there," Gloin smiled from the other side of the room. "If I didn't know already, I would say that you two were mother and daughter."

I chuckled a little, wiping the rest of my tears from my face, "I don't know about that. I'm terrible with kids. I'm the monster that parents warn their kids about a night. I make them cry."

"Nuh uh!" Puppy denied, punching me in the shoulder with her tiny fist.

"I'd have to agree with little one there lassie," Bofur laughed. "You have more than redeemed yourself with your friends."

I gave them a small smirk. "Since we're out of the fire, some bonding might not be bad. Rider, whats your real name?" I asked, being the one to ask the question first.

"Rachael Spurs," she waived. "Rider was my nickname amongst my friends and at competition."

Kili laughed, "Rachel Spurs? What kinda name is that? You got two names?"

"No, Rachel is my first name, Spurs is my family name dummy!" she smacked his arm.

"Mine is Sunsearay O'Niell," she laughed. "Sanity-Sunny was my gamer name. Nico, how about you?"

"Nicole Rush," she shrugged. "Nico was my gamer name and nickname amongst my friends. Cig please."

I groaned and tossed her the rest of the pack that was in my pocket and my lighter, "Nico is no doubt a double meaning. Nico for Nicole and also for nicotine..."

"Right you are!" she winked at me and I rolled my eyes.

"What is you name little one?" Gandalf asked, directed to Puppy.

"Elizabeth..." she whispered. "But I don't remember my last name. My mommy and daddy died when I was still really little."

"Frost," I poked her.

"What?" she looked at me.

"Your last name is Frost... I knew your father. Worked with him off and on. It was possibly not just chance that lead me to you but also fate," I shifted to lean back on my hands. "I knew you when you were itty bitty and still in your mother. I know a whole bunch of stories about your father that would have turned his face red with embarrassment if I told you."

She giggled, "I want to hear those!"

"What is yours Reaper?" Thorin asked, standing up from where he had been sitting. He walked over to stand closer to the fireplace with his pipe in hand.

"Kathrine Barnes," I sighed. "No nickname of mine was ever Reaper till hell broke out. It was the jab that the civilians gave me. My nickname with my unit was Bucky."

"Bucky?" Dwalin queried. "That is no girl's name."

"It was a joke back when I was a Sargent. Long story… for another time maybe."

"Kathrine?" Ori asked leaning closer.

"Kathrine," I repeated with a small smile. "Don't ask me where it is from because I have no flipping clue… something about a great aunt I think."

"I think I like Bucky better. It fits your personality," Nico interjected finishing her cigarette with a cheeky smile plastered across her face.

"Bucky!" Pup cheered.

"You all should start calling each other by your real names again. They are much more beautiful," Balin smiled grandfatherly. "I think they suit you a bit better."

"I agree!" Pup squeaked happily, jumping up from my lap. "I'm tired of being Puppy! I wanna be Eliza…beth again! I'm a grown up now!"

Everyone was laughing at her little foot stomping declaration. While not being able to contain a big smile across my face, I stood up, "Well misses adult. I believe that it is time for bed."

"But I am an adult!" she pouted.

"Adults go to bed too," Rachel sided with me with a giggle.

Elizabeth folded her arms across her chest and glared at us. I took one step towards her and she took one step back. I leaned over and shot her a mock glare then lounged for her and snatched her up.

"Adults have to go to bed at a decent time, in a pitch black room, with no one around," I teased, throwing her over my shoulder as she flailed her arms and legs.

"Oh," she suddenly stopped and in a small voice continued. "In the dark... by themselves?"

Kili jumped in then, "Oh yes. It can be quite scary."

"Especially when there are things that go bump in the night..." Fili added too.

"You two laddies realize that everyone present here will remember this when you have children," Dwalin growled.

I chuckled at the paling sight of Kili and Fili.

"Kathrine... can you... can you stay with me till I fall asleep?" Elizabeth asked meekly then.

I smiled at her retreat to her five year old self and slid her down off my shoulder and held her there in my arms, "Yes I can stay with you till you fall asleep... and in the morning I'll be there when you wake up. Rachel, Nicole, and Sunsearay and I will keep the big bad monsters away... and I'm sure the guys would be more than happy to throw Kili and Fili out into the dark for bait to lure them away."

"Yea!" she twisted around in my arms to point evilly at Fili and Kili. "You can be bait!"

Everyone was all smiles because of her. Even Thorin who smiled from his place near the tall fireplace.

"Say goodnight little one then its off to bed," I laughed as she kicked me lightly in the leg to put her down.

Elizabeth made her rounds through the group giving everyone, even the guys, a hug goodnight. Then she hopped back over to me and took my hand so we could head down the hall to the room that Beorn had given all of us girls to sleep in. I changed Elizabeth out of her clothes and into one of my bigger shirts. The bed was big enough for all of us to sleep in so I got little one situated on one side and I reserved the edge for me. I brushed the hair from her forehead and hummed her to sleep. It only took minutes since she was so tired from the hike today. Her peaceful sleeping face reminded me alot of her parents, some of my closest friends.

With a kiss on her forehead, I shifted off the bed quietly and made my way back down the hall to the others.

* * *

**_Ah! So recap time! _**

**_Reaper's real name is Katherine_**

**_Rider's real name is Rachel_**

**_Puppy's real name is Elizabeth_**

**_Sanity's real name is Sunsearay (the friend who I based this character off of... her real first name is this and I love the name. I think it is a really pretty name. So since I was stuck not knowing what to have Sanity's real name be, I stuck with Sunsearay ((most likely will end up just Sunny in chapters to come)))_**

**_Nico's real name is Nicole._**

**_So I know it is confusing. I thought it was time though that the girls have real names rather than nicknames all the time. But I wont be changing back and forth between nicknames or anything because that makes is a big mess. Though I will have someone mess up names once or twice like Kili or Fili or Puppy. So from now on out these characters will be called by their real names. I'll add this at the top of the next couple of chapters as a help guide. _**

**_Anywho! Till later!_**


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